xp_logs | Sooraya and Professor Xavier: Some words from the wise.

Struggling with the new universe in some ways, Sooraya seeks out some counsel.

"Uhm..." Sooraya started a little awkwardly, fiddling nervously with a loose end of her scarf. "I am not even sure where to begin..." Reaching out, she stirred a little amount of sugar in her tea, before popping up and reaching in her tote. "Oh, and I made snicker doodles this morning..."

"You spoil me," was Charles' slightly amused reply as she pulled out the Tupperware container with the cookies. "But please, Sooraya, relax. Whatever is bothering you, I'm sure we can talk it out."

"I feel like an idiot." Sooraya muttered to herself as opened up the container and put it on the table between them. Finally, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to compose herself. "Did you hear about what happened in District X, professor? With the police attacking that boy?"

He nodded gravely. "A deeply regrettable incident, and I understand the frustration of those involved. But you acted commendably, Sooraya, in getting the students out of potential danger as soon as you could."

"It's just... what happened has been making me think... Not if I did something wrong or should I have done something different, but..." Sooraya sucked in a deep breath. "What was Xorn, Professor? What was Xorn that he could create a world that is so much darker... Not just what happened to that boy. But so many things..."

Charles considered the question as he sipped at his tea, carefully going over his answer. "Xorn was a mutant," he said at last. "A very powerful mutant, yes, but in the end, just as human as you or I. And because he was human, he had limits. This world clearly shows that."

Sooraya shook her head slowly. "Ever since I came to the mansion I have seen incredible things, professor. Things I never thought possible. But this, this power goes so far above that. It is on a level that must only have ever been seen only once before... But if I consider the implications of that..." She shuddered a little.

"You start to question?" Charles prompted. While his telepathy was a shadow of what it had been before, he was still a naturally good reader of people.

"He is Allah, the Planner, Executer and Fashioner of creation. His are thenames most beautiful. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth extols His Glory." Sooraya fluently quoted a sentence from the Koran. "I have always been sure of this. With everything that happened, I managed to hold on... But now? Now I am not sure I can. How could Xorn have that power if it's Allah's alone?"

Charles nodded and pondered before he spoke. "I can understand your doubts, Sooraya. Xorn's power can certainly be seen as god-like, beyond even my ability to imagine. For those of us with faith, it has not been easy. The losses we've experienced, the power we've seen - Dark Phoenix, Xorn..." He paused again, collecting his thoughts. "Unfortunately, there are no real answers. Faith is a very personal thing, and while the tenets of our beliefs, the Bible, the Koran, they provide a guide, it is for each of us to make our own paths through the world. For me, I remind myself that God's hand is in everything, even Xorn's power."

"I so badly want to believe that, but I cannot see it that way. I know it might work in way we cannot understand..." Sooraya shook her head. "Losing Yvette... Nathan... the dark path this world has taken in both my faith, but also for mutants... I have read and read, but I cannot find the answers I am looking for in His words." She surreptitiously swept a hand over her eyes.

Reaching forward, Charles patted her other hand. "Sooraya, your confusion, your grief, your doubt... it <I>is</I> justified. We have seen and experienced the best and the worst existence has to offer, things that our religions never needed to explain. All we can do is have faith that it will become clearer, in time." He cleared his throat a little. "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

Sooraya was quiet for a few moments as she considered the words. "That is a beautiful saying. It has a whole lot of truth in it." She pondered for a few more moments, then carefully ventured: "Professor, do you believe Allah would be upset with people if they felt they had to explore a different path? That we would suffer for it in the afterlife? Most interpretation of my religion generally say you have to follow the path set out for you. But they didn't know all that we have seen."

"If we were not meant to explore our faith, why would our creator give us free will?" replied Charles. "Blind faith, faith that is given without question, without thought... that is not true faith, merely following. To explore, to question, to seek answers... that is the true path, in my opinion."

"It would not be the first time I went outside the usual paths." Sooraya considered out loud, but still softly. "When I learned about Angelo and Jean-Phillipe... Yet it's one that was walked by other people before."

"It is a lonely path we walk, all of us who survived," Charles replied, his own voice soft... and sad. "To remember but not to be able to speak of what we know. But while I am not Muslim, I am here for you to talk to about your journey, and provide what advice I can."

"Thank you Professor." Sooraya nodded with a tiny smile. "It's strange... I have always seen my faith as rock, but now it feels like a weak clay, easily washed away by the rain. Yet its clay that is malleable, while a rock is not."

"And clay can pass through fire and become something beautiful and useful," Charles pointed out with an answering smile. "Something to keep in mind, perhaps."